By Ray Hamill — One of the big stories early in the new school sports year has been the strong performances of some of the younger athletes around the H-DNL.
Most notably a class of sophomores that are making their presence felt.
On Friday night, Fortuna’s Easton Essig enjoyed a night he won’t easily forget as he helped to lead the Fortuna Huskies to a quality 27-20 win over University Prep in Redding.
The standout sophomore rushed for or 219 yards on 23 carries and scored a pair of touchdowns.
And that makes the young player our choice for Athlete of the Week, as he earns the honor one week after his teammate, senior quarterback Will Shaw.
Before the season kicked off Fortuna head coach Mike Benbow talked enthusiastically of Essig’s potential in his first season playing varsity and that he was a playmaker they wanted to get the ball to.
And so far he has lived up to those expectations, running hard behind and experienced and talented offensive line.
In the season opener against St. Helena last weekend, Essig ran for 89 yards and a touchdown, and he followed that with a career performance at University Prep.
Through two games, he now has 308 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 35 carries and he looks set for a big season, as do the Huskies.
But Essig is just one of many sophomores around the league that are making the presence felt early in the new school year.
And no team has taken more advantage of that than McKinleyville football.
The Panthers have been a pleasant surprise early in the season and are off to their first 2-0 start since 2015.
And that makes them our choice for Team of the Week.
In his second year in charge of the program, head coach Jason Benge has his players playing with confidence and discipline, and it’s showing in the performances.
They trailed for much of their opener against Cloverdale and struggled to find much rhythm on offense until late in the game.
The offense played better at Fort Bragg on Friday night, as the Panthers came away with a comfortable 32-8 victory.
Defensively, the Panthers have looked very good through the opening two games, allowing just 15 points combined.
Quarterback Corbin Green is one of the many sophomores that are making a difference, along with a core group of senior leaders, including team captains Braylon Sotelo, Bryce Grutzmacher and Charles Chivrell, as well as Wes Montgomery and Lucas Jones
The stellar class of sophomores includes the young quarterback, who is playing with a composure beyond his years, defensive lineman Brycen Phillips, who has been one of the most impressive defensive players in the H-DNL so far, and big-play receiver/defensive back Everett Grutzmacher, who scored the winning touchdown a week ago and had a interception in both games.
Another sophomore, running back Cameron Heldebrandt, scored two TDs in Friday’s win.
The Panthers will try to keep their fast start to the new season going when they play Arcata in a non-league game next weekend.
